Fingers crossed that international travel will be slightly easier next year, then you might even get "Brum In The USA" and "Brum Does Europe"...
"Brum Drinks The Brewery In Plzen Dry"
Unlikely - they first picked up the species in 2014.
Zoo Visits During The "New Normal", Some Thoughts.
- Thread starter Brum
- Start date
"Brum Drinks The Brewery In Plzen Dry"
Unlikely - they first picked up the species in 2014.
Definitely a daughter, and I do tend to mention her a lot. You'll definitely remember in future...
Seen both before, but the nocturnal house has some species I really wanted for the European Challenge. Besides that, pretty much every species in the nocturnal house is a personal favourite.
Only had the Quolls since 2014, sorry to break the bad news.
Not ideal, and that was my major issue with the visit.
Nope, it was open. I would have spent a lot more time in there if I hadn't got a museum to go to and a companion who decided it was too dark when we were in there.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
It must have been something else then and that therefore means that the quoll gets added to my life list too.
I remember seeing the aye-aye in the nocturnal house along with black rats and house mice (if I remember rightly in a sort of creepy looking 1950's style mock kitchen that looked like it could have been a set for an episode of the twilight zone).
Sadly that is honestly all I can remember having seen in that particular nocturnal exhibit as it was so long ago now. I would really love to look at old animal inventories of what was kept there at that time though.
I have strong memories of the black lion tamarins on that little island surrounded by the moat though and also the Livingstone's fruit bats which absolutely fascinated me and were a lifer.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Nope, it was open. I would have spent a lot more time in there if I hadn't got a museum to go to and a companion who decided it was too dark when we were in there.
Shame, but maybe next time, right ?
Also, the British museum is pretty excellent so that must have been worth the visit too.
It's not really my thing but I enjoyed it. Quite liked the library, enjoyed seeing the Marbles and Roseatta Stone replica. There were other highlights but I really do wish we'd stayed at the zoo instead. Did get to have a beer in the Museum Tavern afterwards, a pub that has been there as long as the museum has, and even longer than the street itself has existed in its present form. History and beer, a truly iconic partnership!
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
It's not really my thing but I enjoyed it. Quite liked the library, enjoyed seeing the Marbles and Roseatta Stone replica. There were other highlights but I really do wish we'd stayed at the zoo instead. Did get to have a beer in the Museum Tavern afterwards, a pub that has been there as long as the museum has, and even longer than the street itself has existed in its present form. History and beer, a truly iconic partnership!
Love the British museum, have spent many hours there checking out the galleries.
The Petrie museum and the Grant museum of zoology just down the road are well worth a visit too (definitely will be closed for the forseeable future until this pandemic subsides).
An iconic partnership indeed
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these...
..are my thoughts too. One hundred percent. For a building that from the outside promises so much, it really doesn't sparkle. Much of the time in there one is walking between exhibits with very little to look at, and when there is something to see its in a cramped environment.
Elsewhere at Chester, the Andean Bear cubs are showing very well at the moment, hopefully you got to see those.
I got a trip to Dudley in towards the end of the week before last. It was very good indeed, the one way system was excellent, and there was very little closed. Just the chimp indoor area and children's farm from memory, neither of which impacted my visit. The place looked at its best among the autumn colours too.
..are my thoughts too. One hundred percent. For a building that from the outside promises so much, it really doesn't sparkle. Much of the time in there one is walking between exhibits with very little to look at, and when there is something to see its in a cramped environment.
Elsewhere at Chester, the Andean Bear cubs are showing very well at the moment, hopefully you got to see those.
I got a trip to Dudley in towards the end of the week before last. It was very good indeed, the one way system was excellent, and there was very little closed. Just the chimp indoor area and children's farm from memory, neither of which impacted my visit. The place looked at its best among the autumn colours too.
You may have been lucky to have a 'LHI Stick insect experience'. Was it/they outside the little box in the tank then? Or maybe they have changed the exhibit since I saw it last- but I suspect not.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
I love that ! lol
It sounds like the invertebrate / phasmid equivalent of a religious / mystical experience.
I love that ! lol it sounds like the invertebrate equivalent of a religious / mystical experience.
I used the term tongue in cheek rather because many zoos in the UK nowadays offer additional 'animal experiences'- usually for an exorbitant (IMO) fee, in order to make extra money. These usually take the form of getting closer access to animals than a normal visit offers, such as shadowing a keeper for a day and/or participating (under keeper supervision) in animal feeding times. I don't blame them in the slightest for capitalising like this where they can, although sometimes I have reservations over allowing the close contact of strangers with certain species.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Really ? So a bit like a "zoo keeper for the day" type thing ?
I'm cynical about these schemes too (especially considering that you can get all of this for free with the necessary gritty realism included if you just volunteer) but ultimately I agree with you that I can't blame zoos at all for capitalising on it.
I have to admit that a Lorde Howe Island stick insect experience sounds awesome though but I'd rather not pay for it.
True, I can imagine with some of the more highly strung species letting visitors get so close could be a bit dodgy for their wellbeing.
Yes, 'keeper for a day' is the most common one I think.
I did indeed, in fact all the bears (Sun and Spectacled) were active and in fine form every time I passed their enclosures.
Can't beat Dudley in the spring or autumn, unless it's windy then it can be Hell on Earth!
I don't think the exhibit has changed, but owing to the fact you've got to stay away from the glass (COVID restrictions again...), and owing to the fact that only half of the tank is clearly visible, then I spent a while looking at dead branches with my neck craned at an unnatural angle until I saw something move. Probably the only time I lingered at an exhibit during my visit.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Found this video about the success Bristol has had with the captive breeding of the LHI stick insect and it shows how they are kept behind the scenes.
I wonder why they wouldn't make much more of an effort with the display enclosure they put on public view.
But Bristol's exhibit isn't done like that. Its not near the offshow tanks- or they aren't visible anyway. There is just one small tank with a sprig of branch food in a jar and what looks like a cigar or pencil-type box in it. Being nocturnal the stick insect(s?) is often hiding inside its box and so out of view. (Obviously for the above video offshow ones were available to be filmed). Think Brum was lucky to see it...
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Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Yes, I've seen this kind of set up at the London Zoo's reptile / amphibian house where they have a lab set up with amphibians in particular.
I do think they are doing valuable scientific work in terms of researching amphibian captive husbandry and chytridiomycosis etc.
But I tend to think that this is done more behind the scenes rather than on show to the public through a display window (it would irritate the hell out of me if I was researching something while also on display like a goldfish in an aquarium).
I think the fact the day was so dull helped, it was extremely dark in the bug house. I only knew it was there because the people ahead of me had just seen it. I'd have written it off as asleep otherwise and my visit would have been even shorter.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
If there is no reason for the way it is currently displayed related to husbandry of this species then I think Bristol should maybe shape up a bit in terms of displaying the species to the public.
It is one of their big ex-situ conservation success stories afterall and it deserves to be highlighted as does the story of the species itself which is in itself remarkable.